The disclosure relates to apparatus, systems and methods for the measurement of particulate matter flow, particularly in non-vertical settings, including horizontal settings. Various applications also work in traditional vertical settings.
Bulk materials are often moved by gravity through inclined spouts. Real time, in-line and accurate flow measurement without interrupting flow in these inclined spouts present a tremendous technical challenge. Monitoring and managing material flow in real time for conditioning of grains or seeds, for example, can increase operating efficiency and can improve profitability.
Accurate flow measurement can result in improved process management and significant cost saving for companies handling high value products such as seeds and food grade materials, including powders, grain and feed handling, corn and soybean processing, popcorn, dry food ingredients, plastic pellets, and pharmaceuticals. Continuous monitoring of flow rates can also provide useful information for equipment adjustment or integrating with a process such as adding a chemical in seed treating or ingredients during food processing.
Currently, a number of flowmeters are available that measure flow of bulk materials. Some of these flow meters are “batch”-type, meaning that a sample or batch is periodically drawn from the flow and weighed to compute the flow. These “batch”-type flow meters have limited value since they are not real-time measurements. Others are “continuous batch”-type meters that load a specific amount of materials in a bin, weigh it and then unload to another bin. These also are not real-time, take significant space and are expensive.
Vertical flow meters that provide real-time data often require the vertical “falling” of the material, due to the gravity requirements. Considerable head space and remodeling of existing piping are needed to make the flow vertical which is expensive.
So, there is a need for a non-vertical, real-time and compact flow meter that can be installed without modifying the existing geometric configuration and measures the flow accurately in real time without interrupting the flow. In a non-vertical flow applications, the materials “slide” in the spout as opposed to the “falling” that occurs freely in vertical flow. Therefore, there is need in the art for devices, systems and methods to measure the flow in non-vertical applications.